Ferrari 'upswing' explained: 'Overlooked the threat'

Ferrari are back in the World Championship with Charles Leclerc's victory in Austria. The gap to Max Verstappen is still significant at 38 points, but according to Chris Medland, the pressure could increase at the French Grand Prix, he writes on Formula1.com.

The Formula One journalist saw the Italian team go without a win for some time after the race weekend in Australia, allowing Red Bull Racing to pull further ahead in the world championship. Sergio Perez even took second place in the standings, but after the Austrian GP that position is back in the hands of Leclerc.

With the Austrian formation picking up the most points for weekends in a row, it seemed for a while that Red Bull would not be bothered by Ferrari this season. "But that view discounted Ferrari, and overlooked the threat they had posed at most of those six races," the journalist stated.

Tension between Red Bull and Ferrari

After strong weekends at Silverstone and in Austria, the situation is different. Medland therefore expects Red Bull and Ferrari to be evenly matched in France and once again battle it out for victory on the race weekend.

"Leclerc is now up to second in the drivers’ championship and has closed the gap to Max Verstappen by 11 points – to 38 – over the past two races. While you’d still rather be the championship leader, if Leclerc can claw back some more points this weekend then the pressure might start to build a little on the defending champion."